Top Performance Series: Taylor Hendricks

Breaking down 3-and-D forward, Taylor Hendricks, against Tulane in mid January.

The idea behind the top performance series is to go back and watch the best, or one of the best, box score games of each prospect's season to see how they looked when they were performing at their highest individual level and what that might show us about their ceiling as a prospect.

Choosing this game for Taylor Hendricks came down to wanting to see more about his overall versatility on both ends of the court.

This January game vs Tulane was not his most explosive scoring outburst, 15 points on five of eight from the field, but he filled up the box score. Hendricks finished the game with 11 rebounds, four offensive and seven defensive. He also chipped in three blocks, a steal, four assists and did so without committing a turnover.

Offense

As expected, it was slow going for Hendricks offensively in this game but for different reasons than anticipated.

For starters, Tulane played a majority of the game in a zone which definitely affected the flow of the Central Florida offense. From there, Hendricks’ teammates simply did not value getting him the touches he needed.

A perfect example of this happened with under two minutes to go in the game and UCF down by three. Hendricks found himself wide open on the wing for a drive and kick 3-point attempt but never saw the ball touch his hands. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated occurrence throughout the game.

The 6-foot-9 forward did knock down two big 3-point attempts in the second half during his teams’ comeback and one aspect of his shooting form that stood out was how little of a dip he has on his shot. This will serve him very well moving to the next level and being able to get his shot off before defenses are able to recover.

While the assist numbers were modest for the season, at just 1.35 per game, it did stand out how unselfish he plays. While he will not be a high level shot creator for his teammates, he is going to pass well enough to keep the ball moving and get it on time and on target to open teammates.

The Calvary Christian High School alum also showcased all of the other off the ball skills you would want to see from a true off the ball player. He had timed up some really nice cuts to the rim, ran in transition, relocated to get open looks and attacked the offensive boards.

An area that did not stand out in this game but will be interesting to track for Hendricks is as a play finisher. If he is able to provide efficiency, above the rim, finishing in pick-and-rolls and from the dunker spot that increases his overall value beyond just a floor space and ball mover.

The reason for this is the lack of isolation and off the dribble game that is often discussed is absolutely true. Not only was Hendricks not able to create any advantages in these situations but he often looked hesitant, and indecisive, to even try.

Defense

Outside of a couple late communications which led to slip opportunities for the offense and being a tad late on a couple rotations it was a good defensive performance from the Fort Lauderdale, FL native.

The defensive playmaking has been talked about at length and it definitely showed itself in this game. He was active and engaged off the ball which led to deflections, digs and steals. He had a couple really nice blocked shots, including one with his weak hand (left), but even his rim protection flashed beyond these rejected attempts at the rim.

Often you will see these high level shot blockers chasing opportunities or unwilling to recognize when they should play with straight verticality. Neither of these were the case with Hendricks in this game.

If there was one thing that was left undetermined from this game it was Hendricks overall versatility guarding on the ball.

We got one possession on the perimeter versus a smaller player, where he held up great, and one possession in the post, where he held up great, but not nearly enough sample to make any overwhelming proclamations.

Where he did show his value in overall versatility was the different roles he played within the defensive scheme. Sometimes being the low man and then the tag man and yet another possession being asked to guard the initial ball screen action.

Ceiling

Elite 3-and-D forward.

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